


Catching Frogs

by whitecrossgirl



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Childhood Friends, Gen, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:48:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24794941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitecrossgirl/pseuds/whitecrossgirl
Summary: "Catching frogs?" "It's the full moon, we used to do it all the time." One-shot inspired by Leon and Gwen's dialogue from 5x08. No spoilers just three children attempting to catch a frog at the full moon.Originally written November 2012
Relationships: Elyan & Gwen (Merlin), Elyan & Leon, Gwen & Leon (Merlin)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	Catching Frogs

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Gwen rolled over and looked up at the window. Leon was pressed against the glass with a finger against his lips, looking at the next bed where her father was asleep. Gwen smiled and shook Elyan awake, quickly clapping a hand over his mouth as he attempted to protest. The siblings climbed out of bed and quickly pulled on their shoes before quietly slipping out the front door to where Leon was waiting on them. The full moon laminated the street and houses around them and the three children ran as quickly as they could into the woods towards the stream.

There were several rumours regarding frogs and the full moon. One that said that if you caught a frog on the night of a full moon then you would have a wish granted. Another claimed that some frogs were people who had been enchanted by sorcerers and only able to return human on a full moon. Several children claimed to catch frogs frequently yet none of the other children could be seen or heard. After discussing it several times, the three friends had decided that tonight they would sneak out and try and catch a frog. Leon at thirteen was the oldest, Elyan was eleven and Gwen was nearly ten; by all accounts they would be seen as being too old to believe such rumours but they wanted to try anyway to say they'd done it. Leon pulled off his shoes and waded into the river, Gwen stayed on the riverbank and plunged her hands into the water whereas Elyan walked up and down the bank trying to spot any signs of movement.

"This is taking forever," Leon complained as his feet grew numb with the cold. He turned and went to wade out of the water when Elyan called out.

"There! He's moving towards you Leon, get him!" Elyan shouted. Leon turned and plunged his hands into the water, groping blindly before raising his hands into the air triumphantly.

"Got him!" Leon claimed as the frog attempted to free itself. As Leon waded back to the bank, Elyan reached out to take the frog. As he got out of the river, Leon used his cloak to dry his feet and pulled his socks and shoes back on as Gwen got up to take a look, rubbing her hands on her nightdress. The frog was fairly big, still wet from the water and slimy. Elyan studied the frog as his sister and friend approached.

"So what do we do?" Elyan asked. Now that they actually had the frog, he had no idea what they were meant to do with it.

"I don't know, maybe we have to ask it for our wish." Leon suggested as he took the frog and held it up to eye level. "I wish to be the bravest knight of Camelot that there ever was."

"That's not a real wish, we all know you'll be a knight someday." Gwen countered.

"You try and make a wish if you're so clever." Leon stated and he offered her the frog. Gwen tugged her sleeves over her hand before taking the frog. She wasn't that squeamish or girly but the fact remained it was a slimy frog. Gwen held it up gingerly and thought of a wish that could test the frog's abilities.

"I wish I could fall in love with a handsome prince who'll whisk me away to his kingdom so we can live happily ever after." Gwen said and the frog simply stared back at her. Elyan and Leon however were too busy sniggering at her wish to notice the lack of reaction from the frog.

"Aw does little Gwennie want to be a princess?" Leon teased as he ruffled Gwen's hair. Gwen glared at him whilst Elyan snatched the frog and grinned at his sister.

"Maybe this frog is a prince under a spell like in that story? Go on Gwen give it a kiss." Elyan joked as he held the frog an inch away from Gwen's face. Gwen leant back and held an arm in front of her mouth.

"That's disgusting! I'd never, ever, ever kiss a frog!" Gwen vowed, holding the frog hadn't been that bad and the creatures were quite gentle really. It didn't mean she wanted to kiss one though. Even if it was a prince. Besides knowing her luck if the frog was a prince, it would probably be as annoying and ugly as Prince Arthur who had a habit of pulling her hair or eavesdropping on her and Lady Morgana's conversations.

Elyan however was focused on the frog in hand once more. "Maybe we should wish for something we could get right now. Like, I wish I could fight a monster right now."

As excepted nothing happened and the three children looked at each other and shrugged. They must have spent half an hour with that frog and yet nothing had happened. None of their wishes had come true and the frog hadn't turned into a person. The frog was just that, a frog. Knowing it was pointless to continue as well as the higher possibility of getting caught being out so late, the children made a decision to put the frog back into the river and go home. Giving the frog one last stroke, they gently threw the amphibian back into the water and watched as it disappeared before walking back home. As they reached Gwen and Elyan's house the trio looked at one another.

"I have to admit, it was fun trying to catch the frog." Leon admitted.

"Yeah, maybe we should do it again even just to catch frogs because the rumours are just fake." Elyan suggested.

"It was fun but we'd need to be careful, if we get caught our parents will be really angry." Gwen reminded and the boys nodded in agreement.

"So this time next month?" Leon asked and the siblings smiled before they crept back into their house and Leon hurried back to his own before anyone seen them. Despite the tiredness felt the next day, it quickly became a routine habit for them to sneak out to catch frogs. As they got older however the trips became less and less until they stopped due to their work and training demands and simply remained memories, occasionally recalled upon with a smile as they recounted their naïve belief that frogs could become people or answer wishes. Only children believed such things.

Yet if they had noticed, Gwen, Elyan and Leon would have realised that whilst the frog they captured that night hadn't been magical or enchanted; in their own way all three of their wishes had been granted.

If not in the way they had expected.


End file.
